Viv's Plea For Change
(Jamaica Gleaner)
Viv RICHARDS, chairman of the West Indies selection committee, has called for more powers for the management and it is something to think about.
According to Richards, a law unto himself during his playing days but one of the proudest, most dedicated and passionate players ever to represent the West Indies, the management on tour needs the power to make decisions in order to deal with indiscipline.
"We have got to stop fooling around if we are to move forward, we have to be strong about certain decision making," said the former Windies captain, and whether the answer is to give the tour management the power to discipline players or to ensure that the management's recommendations on matters of indiscipline are respected by the West Indies Board, something must be done about it.
There are not many ex-players who love West Indies cricket as passionately as Richards does, his eyes light up whenever he sees a good prospect for the West Indies team; his biggest disappointment is when those players in particular fail to train and to practise.
To make an effort to do justice to their talent by preparing themselves physically and mentally and although but for a late night on the town during a match, there has been no report of any real indiscipline, for Richards to come out and ask that more power to act should be given to those in charge, to those on the ground, suggests that all was not well in South Africa.
If that were so, if all was not well as far as the discipline of the players was concerned, based on the behaviour of some players on recent tours, based on the whispers that came out of South Africa, that would not be surprising.
"I am seriously passionate about West Indies cricket and I would like some individuals to feel the same way I do but there a lot of guys who are playing games in my opinion," said Richards during his call, and that is true.
Those who are close to West Indies cricket, those who have been around the team on recent tours, share that opinion, and although they are not as good as South Africa, remembering not so much the lack of skill but the inconsistency of their bowlers ? and especially so their senior bowlers, remembering the poor fielding, the careless strokes that led to so many dismissals, and the suicidal run outs one behind the other in one innings, that may well be why the West Indies, despite a few splendid batting performances, lost the Test series so easily.
The answer to the problem, however, may not be as simple as giving those on the spot more power to take action against those who are not prepared to do what is necessary to perform consistently.
As Richards hinted when he said, "we need people who are behind you (the management team) and who are not concerned if the individual is from their island," the answer could be to get the territorial board members, the territorial representatives on the West Indies Board to be less insular.
The problem facing West Indies cricket as far as the discipline of the players is concerned is that whenever a player is disciplined, in fact, whenever there is talk about disciplining a player, his territorial board, the representatives from his territory on the West Indies Board oftentimes get involved, they call around, and the result is not only that the player escapes, sometimes without even a rap on the knuckles, but that the one who makes the complaint or the one who attempts to take action is usually ripped to pieces by those defending their player.
West Indies cricket is not easy to administer, the main reason for that is the insularity that exists in every territory, and regardless of the merits, regardless of the fact that part of the problem of West Indies cricket is indiscipline, Richard's plea will fall on deaf ears ? for the simple reason that the territories, the members of the West Indies Board, will not give up the chance they now have to defend their players. In fact, what they will do, as some Jamaicans are already doing, is question the reason for Richards' presence in South Africa.
Following Richard's plea it is almost a safe bet that except for Antigua, a lobby has started around the region for the chairman of the selection committee to stay home and mind his own business.
* This column was first published in the Jamaica Gleaner newspaper.